Virginia certifies John McGuire as primary winner over Rep. Bob Good, who says he’ll seek a recount

RICHMOND. Va. (AP) — The Virginia State Board of Elections on Tuesday licensed the obvious slim defeat of Republican Rep. Bob Good, considered one of America’s most conservative congressmen, to a challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump within the state’s June 18 primaries.

The board’s unanimous vote to certify the outcomes doesn’t finish the matter, although. Good, who chairs the hard-right Home Freedom Caucus in Congress, has mentioned he’ll search a recount now that the state has declared his opponent, state Sen. John McGuire, the winner of the first in Virginia’s fifth Congressional District.

The margin of victory licensed by the electoral board was roughly 375 votes out of almost 63,000 ballots solid, or 0.6 proportion factors. That falls throughout the 1% margin permitting a recount to be requested. However as a result of the margin is bigger than 0.5 proportion factors, Good shall be required to pay for the price of a recount himself.

Final week the AP declared the race too close to call, citing the chance of a recount.

Good has mentioned he’ll pursue each a recount and authorized challenges to dam a McGuire victory. On social media he known as for a “do-over” within the metropolis of Lynchburg, the most important metropolis within the district and a Good stronghold, citing alleged irregularities there.

Good and others have claimed that town botched the vote depend by accepting ballots from a drop box after Election Night.

The Lynchburg registrar has mentioned as a result of a procedural error that seven ballots have been retrieved from a drop field on the Friday after the election somewhat than on Election Evening. The registrar mentioned, although, that they believe the ballots were dropped off on Election Day and that nobody witnessed any of the seven ballots being dropped off after Election Day.

Good’s marketing campaign, in a social media put up, additionally raised skepticism about three fireplace alarms that went off at polling locations in three totally different district precincts on Election Day.

“AI estimates the likelihood being 0.0000000318% probability,” the marketing campaign mentioned of the chance.

Virginia elections commissioner Susan Beals mentioned at Tuesday’s assembly that the fireplace alarms have been triggered by upkeep actions at faculties that have been internet hosting the polling locations. She praised the work of elections officers to safe ballots and mentioned employees “ensured that no voters have been turned away.”

She mentioned that occasional points all the time crop up in elections administration, “however these usually are not systemic issues that decision into query the outcomes of our elections.”

At Tuesday’s assembly an election lawyer representing the McGuire marketing campaign, Daniel Bruce, mentioned there is no such thing as a cause to doubt the outcomes regardless of efforts to undermine confidence. Bruce famous the complaints concerning the Lynchburg drop field and mentioned that “at most we’re speaking about seven votes.”

“We’re assured within the integrity of the election and the legitimacy of the outcomes,” Bruce mentioned.

Nobody from the Good marketing campaign spoke at Tuesday’s assembly. Good’s marketing campaign supervisor, Diana Shores, mentioned in an e mail that Good stays dedicated to searching for a recount.

Now that the outcomes have been licensed, Good’s marketing campaign has a 10-day window through which to file a recount petition with one of many circuit courts within the fifth District.

Shores mentioned the marketing campaign doesn’t but have info it might probably share on the place it should file its petition.

Each Good and McGuire are amongst Republicans who’ve raised issues about election integrity within the wake of Trump’s false claims of voter fraud in his 2020 reelection defeat. Good was amongst greater than 100 GOP Home members who voted in January 2021 to object to the Electoral Faculty depend from states that Trump disputed.

In an Election Eve phone rally with Trump, McGuire urged supporters to ship him a margin of victory “too massive to rig.”

If Good loses, he could be the primary Home incumbent nationally to lose a main problem this yr, aside from one race through which two incumbents confronted off as a result of redistricting.

The Good-McGuire race highlighted the frictions in the party and was seen as a take a look at of Trump’s maintain on the GOP voters. Trump labeled Good a backstabber as a result of Good endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis because the Republican candidate for president.

Both Republican could be favored in November over the Democratic nominee, Gloria Witt, in a district that tilts conservative.